1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to remote server management in networked computer systems and, more particularly, to providing secure communications paths for remote server management communications.
2. Background of the Related Art
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art which may be related to various aspects of the present invention which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Since the introduction of the first personal computer (“PC”) over 20 years ago, technological advances to make PCs more useful have continued at an amazing rate. Microprocessors that control PCs have become faster and faster, with operational speeds eclipsing the gigahertz (one billion operations per second) and continuing well beyond.
Productivity has also increased tremendously because of the explosion in development of software applications. In the early days of the PC, people who could write their own programs were practically the only ones who could make productive use of their computers. Today, there are thousands and thousands of software applications ranging from games to word processors and from voice recognition to web browsers.
In addition to improvements in PC hardware and software generally, the technology for making computers more useful by allowing users to connect PCs together and share resources between them has also seen rapid growth in recent years. This technology is generally referred to as “networking.” In a networked computing environment, PCs belonging to many users are connected together so that they may communicate with each other. In this way, users can share access to each other's files and other resources, such as printers. Networked computing also allows users to share internet connections, resulting in significant cost savings. Networked computing has revolutionized the way in which business is conducted across the world.
Not surprisingly, the evolution of networked computing has presented technologists with some challenging obstacles along the way. One obstacle is connecting computers that use different operating systems (“OSes”) and making them communicate efficiently with each other. Each different OS (or even variations of the same OS from the same company) has its own idiosyncrasies of operation and configuration. The interconnection of computers running different OSes presents significant ongoing issues that make day-to-day management of a computer network challenging.
Another significant challenge presented by the evolution of computer networking is the sheer scope of modern computer networks. At one end of the spectrum, a small business or home network may include a few client computers connected to a common server, which may provide a shared printer and/or a shared internet connection. On the other end of the spectrum, a global company's network environment may require interconnection of hundreds or even thousands of computers across large buildings, a campus environment or even between groups of computers in different cities and countries. Such a configuration would typically include a large number of servers, each connected to numerous client computers.
Further, the arrangements of servers and clients in a larger network environment could be connected in any of an infinite number of topologies that may include local area networks (“LANs”), wide area networks (“WANs”) and municipal area networks (“MANs”). In these larger networks, a problem with any one server computer (for example, a failed hard drive, failed network interface card or OS lock-up to name just a few) has the potential to interrupt the work of a large number of workers who depend on network resources to get their jobs done efficiently. Needless to say, companies devote a lot of time and effort to keeping their networks operating trouble-free to maximize productivity.
An important aspect of efficiently managing a large computer network is to maximize the amount of analysis and repair that can be performed remotely (for example, from a centralized administration site). Tools that facilitate remotely analyzing and servicing server problems help to control network management costs by reducing the number of network management personnel required to maintain a network in good working order. Remote server management also makes network management more efficient by reducing the delay and expense of analyzing and repairing network problems. Using remote management tools, a member of the network management team may identify problems and, in some cases, solve those problems without the delay and expense that accompanies an on-site service call to a distant location.
The growth of modern computer systems and the need to communicate remotely with servers on such a vast geographic scale has, unfortunately, resulted in some unintended negative consequences. Large, geographically diversified computer networks are susceptible to attacks by hackers who desire to gain access to information stored on those computer networks. Such hackers are sometimes motivated by nothing more than the pride they feel when they accomplish a difficult and technically challenging goal in the face of significant efforts to repel their efforts. Sadly, however, many hackers seek to compromise network security for material gain.
The data stored on modern computer networks ranges from military and corporate secrets to personal information, including social security numbers, bank records or information about credit card accounts. This information is obviously very valuable. If a conniving hacker successfully breaks into a network environment where such data is stored, the hacker may use the data directly or sell it to others who would not hesitate to use the information to the disadvantage of its rightful owner. The theft of supposedly secure data could subject the company that stored the data to falling customer confidence resulting in declining business opportunities. Failure to adequately protect the confidential information of others can even give rise to legal liability in some cases.
The complexity of modern computer networks and the equipment that comprises those networks provides hackers with many, many avenues to access secured data. Hackers frequently seek to take advantage of operational quirks of computer hardware and software (such as browser software) that the designers of that hardware or software did not intend or foresee. Even aspects of computer equipment that are intended to provide new features and additional security give imaginative hackers opportunities to compromise network security and steal confidential data.
Remote server management tools that communicate with network servers are a favorite target of hackers' attention. This is true because remote server management tools often have the capability to give a user broad access rights to network servers. Server management requires broad network access rights of the type typically possessed by network administrators who have access to even the most sensitive data stored on a server.
A common practice employed by hackers is to obtain access to a network and eavesdrop or “snoop” communications until they identify a communication that is likely to be a network management communication. If a knowledgeable hacker is able to compromise a management communication with a server, the hacker will undoubtedly have a much greater chance to gain access to sensitive data stored on that server.
The security problems previously discussed are magnified in a remote server management setting, especially for remote communications that are established using publicly available communication paths such as the Internet. The public nature of the Internet makes it a prime target for hackers as they are able to snoop huge volumes of communications in their efforts to locate a vulnerable server.
Of course, the broad public availability of the Internet, which makes it of such interest to hackers, is also of significant appeal to the designers of remote server management tools. A primary goal of remote server management professionals is to create tools to facilitate remote management in the broadest range of contexts possible. A tool which is able to provide remote management capabilities over the Internet is directly in keeping with that desire.
To facilitate the goal of providing remote server management across publicly accessible data paths such as the Internet while at the same time inhibiting the ability of hackers to intercept such communications, a remote network management tool that is able to establish a strongly encrypted communication path with a managed server across the publicly available communication path is highly desirable.